The Laws

ADA and Section 504

Our discussion of the laws is not meant to scare you and we are not lawyers and cannot give legal advice. However, we do have to be cognizant of the fact that it is our legal obligation to make sure we are not discriminating against students from our lack of knowledge or understanding.

There are two federal laws that pertain to the needs of individuals with disabilities in the United States.  The first is Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and the second is the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).  Section 504 applies to those entities that receive federal funds, so most institutions of higher education are subject to its provisions.  Federal funds include grant monies awarded to faculty and staff as well as federal financial aid programs.  The ADA has three titles: Title 1 applies to employment, Title 2 applies to state and local governments (including public colleges and universities) and Title 3 applies to places of public accommodations (including private colleges and universities).  Both laws protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of their disabling conditions.

You may have noticed the dates of passage for both laws: 1973 and 1990.  Yes, they were passed before the advent of online learning and the widespread use of educational technology.  Does this mean that their provisions do not apply to these technological advances and activities of the institution?  Not at all - quite the opposite is true.  Both Section 504 and the ADA require that all programs, activities, and services of the college or university are accessible to students with disabilities.  The online courses and technology used in both online and seated courses certainly qualify as a program, activity or service of the institution; therefore, they must be accessible to all students.  We will discuss more about accessibility and the provision of reasonable accommodations in other parts of this course but first, here are some resources to help you learn more about the federal laws and what they might mean for your institution. 

Other important regulations and guidelines we will discuss later in this course include Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.

Why are these laws important?

In 2010, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the signing of the ADA. Play the following short video with audio descriptions (6:41) that was created for that celebration. Audio descriptions are important for helping blind users know what is happening on the screen when there are no spoken words. 

Download Week 1 Americans with Disabilities Act Transcript.docx

Next, watch two different disability services professionals talk about why the ADA is important in higher education. In the first video, you will hear from Kelly Hermann, Director of Disability Services at Empire State College (4:04). The second video is Sumana Silverheels, Technology Accommodations Coordinator at Buffalo State College (2:47). 

  Download Week 1 Kelly Hermann ADA transcript.docx

Download Week 1 Sumana ADA Regulations Transcript.docx

Estimated time: 20 minutes